


One loves the sunset, when one is sad

by kakotheres



Series: Just Write! Fluff Bingo 2019 [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Dalton Academy, Fluff, Gen or Pre-Slash, Le Petit Prince References, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Relationship, Sunsets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 00:03:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19878301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakotheres/pseuds/kakotheres
Summary: Kurt didn't have the easiest time transitioning to Dalton Academy, and Sebastian Smythe hasn't made it any easier. But a forgotten notebook and Le Petit Prince help him to see a new side to Sebastian, and for them to get to know one another on a deeper level.





	One loves the sunset, when one is sad

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Just Write! Discord server, Fluff Bingo 2019.  
> Prompt: Sunsets.
> 
> "Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Had it not been for the life-threatening bullying environment at McKinley, Kurt never would have considered leaving McKinley and enrolling at Dalton. But there were definite benefits to his membership at the elite institution besides the whole not being afraid for his safety and his life. The classes were more rigorous and engaged him more than anything at McKinley ever had. The school valued the arts at least as much as they did athletics, giving large budgets to all sorts of diverse extracurricular activities. No more football team ruling the halls, no more special treatment for people who could throw a ball farther than anyone else. The teachers were invested in the lives of their students, and any favoritism amongst their charges was much less overt than at McKinley.

Still, it wasn’t a perfect paradise for one Kurt Hummel. There was a uniformity to the student body that grated on him. Identical blazers walked through the hall, turning individual boys into a sea of blue, each one blending into the once beside it. For someone who found self-expression and creativity through fashion, it was a difficult transition to make. Worth it for safety? Certainly. But still a hard shift. Kurt had left most of his clothes behind at his house in Lima, knowing that he would have little chance to wear them. Students wore uniforms to classes. When lounging around in the dorm areas, everyone stuck to casual clothing mostly covered in the school logos. Kurt already stood out enough as a mid-semester transfer – his confidence in himself and his sense of style had taken a back seat to simply trying find his balance in this new normal. Kurt found himself sketching designs more and more during his off hours. At least at Dalton he didn’t have to worry about a surprise slushie destroying hours’ worth of painstaking creative labor.

He had also had to adapt to living in a very different student body – the affluence and upper class dripped from most of the students at Dalton. Though there were a few students like himself who were there on scholarships, most paid the full tuition out of pocket. They were children of Ivy League legacy families, groomed from an early age for academic achievement. For the son of a mechanic from small town Ohio, they were the kind of people you heard about on the news and never thought you’d meet in person. Most of these boys didn’t know the difference between a camshaft and an alternator, yet they could expect to find a luxury model car with a big red bow in the driveway on their 16th birthday. It was insane.

For now, Kurt was just focused on getting his feet back underneath him and keeping his head down. He had so far managed to avoid Blaine’s invitations to officially join the Warblers. The other boy had brought it up while Kurt was still bringing the first boxes up from his car to his dorm. Kurt’s head had been spinning, trying to make sense of how quickly everything was moving, and Blaine was talking about getting ready for their next staircase performance. Kurt wasn’t sure that he had time right now to devote to any extracurriculars – as a late semester transfer, he had to catch up with most of his classes. He didn’t want to pile too much onto his plate. Plus, as much as he had enjoyed their performance when he had come to spy on them, he still felt a twinge in his chest when he thought about possibly competing against the New Directions.

Once upon a time, being involved with New Directions had been a lifeline for Kurt, a rope he had grabbed desperately when he was at one of the lowest points. And he appreciated what they had done to help him once they knew how bad things were, as little effect as it had. But when he had announced his need to leave with the reality of Karofsky looming over his head again, he was met with anger. He was called selfish. He was still wrestling with his feelings and emotions related to how they had turned on him when he had announced his transfer. He thought they had understood how terrified he was, how he couldn’t possibly continue to show up day after day, always looking over his shoulder, always being on his toes, waiting for the hammer to fall. But instead they had focused on him running away, abandoning them for his competitors. They pulled their support away the moment he needed to do something for him.

He needed to time to heal and feel comfortable in his own skin again, and he wasn’t sure he could do that while singing with the Warblers. He needed space from the world of show choir, and the friends he had left behind.

Besides, singing with the Warblers meant spending even more time with one Sebastian Smythe – a persistent, aggravating thorn is his side with whom he shared several classes.

Sebastian was a fellow transfer student, though he entered at the beginning of the school year. He had grown up in Paris. The rumor, as far as Kurt could tell, was that Sebastian’s parents had gotten a divorce, and Sebastian’s American father had ended up with custody and brought him to the states with him when he left. Though he was mainly involved with the lacrosse team, he had also joined the Warblers. Anytime that Kurt found himself hanging out with other members of the group, Sebastian was right there in the middle. At first, Kurt thought that he would have a lot in common with Sebastian, seeing as they were both new and trying to find their place amidst the other students. Most of the boys in the school had been part of the Dalton system from a young age and had formed close bonds along the way. But Sebastian at least had transferred from another boarding school. He was clearly much more comfortable navigating that life than Kurt was. And part of that navigation seemed to be needling Kurt every chance he got. His barbs and insults were chipping away at what little was left of Kurt’s self-confidence.

Blaine told Kurt to ignore it, that the other boy was probably just as unsure as Kurt was and this was how he dealt with it. Kurt was just being ‘too sensitive’ and should ‘have compassion for him’. But Kurt, who was just looking for a place to hide and lick the wounds that McKinley had inflicted on him, found his patience running extremely short. In the same vein, he was also finding himself less and less impressed with his former knight-in-shining armor. Blaine was undoubtably the king of the Warblers, despite not being on the council. He was consulted on any decision that the three older boys made and monopolized the solos. It was like having a male version of Rachel Berry, only without Quinn and Santana to keep her in check with their sharp tongues. Most of the other members instead hung on his every word, taking his opinions on anything as gospel. When he ignored and excused Sebastian’s comments to Kurt, so did the other boys. Kurt found himself once more on the outskirts. While he would forever be grateful that meeting Blaine had let him see Dalton as a way out of his own personal hell, he found himself less and less enthralled with the boy each day.

*****

“Alright guys, that’s a wrap! Once you’ve written down the homework, you’re free to go. Remember that next week we’re going to be focusing on your group projects, so start thinking about who you want to work with.”

Kurt groaned quietly to himself. Great, just what he needed – another chance to be the odd man out. Group projects never went well for him, and he didn’t expect Dalton to be any different. Even after a month here, he was still on the outside. All around him, the murmur of voices rose and fell as they stuffed notebooks into their bags, chairs scraping across the floor as everyone scrambled to exit the room and head to their next things. Kurt slowly closed his notebook, slipping it into his messenger bag and making sure to secure his favorite pencil in the front pocket before standing up. By the time he had stood up and adjusted his bag onto his shoulder, he found himself alone in the room with his teacher, who was walking around the room putting the desks and chairs back in order.

“Oh! Someone forgot their notebook!” Mr. Blake exclaimed. Kurt noted with dismay that Mr. Blake was standing in front of the desk that had previously been occupied by Sebastian. “Looks like it’s for US History. Shoot, isn’t there a test coming up soon? I thought I saw John working on putting something together.”

Kurt started to inch toward the door, hoping to duck out of the room before Mr. Blake noticed that he was still there. The last thing he wanted to do was get involved with anything Sebastian owned.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough to avoid Mr. Blake. Looking back over his shoulder, he spotted Kurt heading to the door. “Kurt, you know Sebastian, right? Would you mind getting this back to him? I have to go to a meeting with the Dean.”

Kurt sighed. Serves him right for procrastinating leaving. He should know better than to be the last one out of a classroom. At McKinley, that would’ve been dangerous. Here at least he knew he was physically safe – the worst that was going to happen was that his teacher might corner him to find out how he was settling in. Kurt wasn’t used to teachers taking an interest in his emotional well-being. But he really enjoyed Mr. Blake’s classes – the man’s love for his subject material was infectious, and a welcome relief from the apathy of McKinley. “Sure, Mr. Blake. I can drop it by his dorm I guess.”

“Great, great. I think he has lacrosse practice now, but hopefully you can catch him later. Thanks Kurt!”

Kurt took the proffered notebook, tucking it into his bag and exiting the classroom, heading back to his dorm. He’d try getting a few hours of studying in before dropping by Sebastian’s room later. He was hoping to head back home over the weekend, but if he was going to do that then he needed to make sure he got a head start on his assignments. Somehow schoolwork never seemed to get done when he was in Lima.

*****

Kurt walked down the hallway of the dorms, Sebastian’s forgotten notebook in hand. After waking up to his cheek pressed to his desk, notes pushed to the side, he had jumped in a quick shower, hoping to clear his mind. He still felt groggy from his impromptu nap. It was like his body was still trying to catch up on all the sleep he had been missing from the last few months at McKinley. His mind had been unable to shutoff at night, worrying about what was going to happen the next day, shying away from remembering being shoved and threatened in a place where he should have been safe. He didn’t even have the energy to be mad at Sebastian for leaving his notebook behind, forcing Kurt to do search him out outside of class. He was just…exhausted. He had tossed on a McKinley football tee-shirt stolen from Finn and some track pants from his days on the Cheerios. The shirt was huge but comforting, even if it was less than fashionable. It didn’t matter what comments Sebastian might make. Kurt was over it.

Arriving at Sebastian’s door, Kurt rapped twice on the wood in front of him.

“What do you want?” A cranky voice came from inside.

“Sebastian, it’s Kurt. You left your notebook behind in class.”

Kurt heard the faint sounds of someone shuffling around the room. A few seconds later, the door in front of him opened, revealing Sebastian’s annoyed face as he leaned against the doorframe. His feet were bare, legs encased in a pair of dark grey sweatpants. He was wearing a blue hoodie with “Dalton Lacrosse” written across the front, _Smythe_ emblazoned on the upper arm in red thread. His hair looked slightly damp and out of control, bits sticking up in every direction imaginable. He must have recently finished showering after practice. Kurt swallowed.

“Kurt? What’re you doing here?” Sebastian asked, crossing his arms.

Kurt startled. “What? Oh. Like I said, I’m returning your notebook. You left it behind after English this afternoon…Mr. Blake asked me to bring it to you.” He paused. “Because there’s a test soon. Or something. But yes. Notebook.”

“Oh. Well, come on in, I guess.” Sebastian stepped back into the room, leaving it slightly ajar for Kurt to follow him in. “Doubt I’m going to bother studying for it, but whatever. Don’t mind the mess, I wasn’t expecting company.”

Closing the door behind him, Kurt took a quick survey of the room around him. A gym bag had been tossed into one corner, zipper open and clothes spilling out. Two lacrosse sticks were resting against one wall, both showing marks and wear from plenty of use. The desk was clean, with a laptop sitting closed in the center, a few books stacked in a neat pile to the side. The walls were mostly bare, and there were no personal knickknacks to be seen. It looked like the room of someone who had only just arrived, rather than someone who had been here for almost a full school year. Kurt wondered what it must have been like, if Sebastian had been forced to leave a lot of his things behind in Paris when they let. He couldn’t imagine how having to handle that. The bed in the corner was neatly made, though the top layer was rumpled where someone had clearly been sitting recently. A small book lay open on top of the bedspread, the pages covered in familiar illustrations that caused a lump to form in Kurt’s throat.

“Well?” Sebastian said, his voice calling Kurt’s attention away from the sudden influx of emotion. “You said you had my notebook?”

“Yeah,” Kurt said absently, holding the notebook out to Sebastian. “Is that _Le Petit Prince?_ ”

“Yeah, what of it?” Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing.

“Nothing, it’s just…I love that book. My mom and I used to read it together all the time.” Kurt looked away, bracing himself for a snide remark.

Sebastian’s stance softened. “Oh.” He walked over to the bed, dropping himself down and pulling his legs up underneath him. “Yeah, it’s wonderful. There are so many levels to it, and the linguistics of it are just…” He trailed off as he ran his hand over the page in front of him, his fingers resting on the image of a small figure with yellow hair, sitting in a chair on a tiny little planet.

Kurt shifted his weight. “So, um, now that you have your notebook, I guess I’ll just go…” He wasn’t sure what to do with this Sebastian. He was used to brash, cocky, insulting Sebastian. He had been prepared to hear something rude, an insult to his hair or his face or just his general existence. But this Sebastian was…different. Introspective in a way he never would have imagined. It made Kurt wonder what other sides Sebastian might be hiding behind his prickly and self-absorbed front. The guy was still an ass, no question about it. But Kurt was friends with plenty of self-absorbed jerks. He enjoyed their company, once he knew there was more to them than that.

Sebastian looked up. “No, stay!” He motioned to the empty space on the bed next to him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude about,” he shrugged, “everything, I guess. Thanks for bringing the notebook – Mr. Blake always thinks I need to ‘talk about my feelings’. I’m glad to avoid being alone with him if I can.”

Kurt snorted. “Yeah, I’ve gotten that speech from him a few times.” Kurt made his way cautiously across the room, pausing in front of the bed.

Sebastian chuckled. “C’mon, sit. Promise I don’t bite.” Kurt rolled his eyes but sat down next to Sebastian, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Sebastian looked over at him. “So, you and your mom used to read it?”

Kurt nodded. “Yeah. She was a French major in college, and she spent some time in Tahiti right after she graduated. Said she knew she was in deep once she started dreaming in French.”

Sebastian laughed. “That’s definitely true. How did she end up in Ohio?”

“She was born here, originally. Met my dad at some point, fell in love and just…never left again.”

“You seem close. Do you miss being away from her?”

“She died. When I was eight.” Kurt felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes. So many years, and it still got to him.

“That sucks.” Kurt couldn’t find any trace of mockery in his tone. No one ever seemed to know how to respond to his grief. Every time someone said “I’m sorry for your loss” it just rang hollow in his ear. Sebastian’s response was refreshing, in a way.

“Yeah, yeah it does.” Kurt startled as he felt Sebastian’s hand fall to his shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. He looked at him, seeing a hint of sympathy in his eyes. Sebastian shrugged and let his hand fall softly onto the bed between them.

“So, _Le Petit Prince_?”

“Yeah. We used to read it together all the time when I was little. She made sure to teach me French right along with English – it was like our own secret language, you know? My dad doesn’t speak it at all. There’s not much use for French when you’re a mechanic. And as much as he loved her, he just has no affinity for languages. After she died, I had no one to speak it with. I thought maybe I could pick it up at school but…McKinley’s language program…leaves a lot to be desired.”

Kurt took a deep breath. He hadn’t shared his mom with anyone else in a long time. In Lima, for the most part everyone knew she was gone. There was a lot of sympathy in the early days, especially for his dad – widower with a young child to raise. And a such a strange child at that. But now, no one asked him about it anymore. It was just a fact of his character bio as far as everyone else was concerned. Sue Sylvester coached-slash-terrorized the Cheerios. Rachel Berry had a stage in her basement. Kurt’s mom was dead. At this point, Kurt had learned to bury his feelings about his mother deep because no one else seemed to care about them. Yet somehow, he found himself sharing this with Sebastian.

Kurt looked down at the page that Sebastian had open. The figure of the little prince sat in a small chair, his scarf blowing gently behind him as he looked out into space.

_«Tu sais…quand on est tellement triste on aime couchers de soleil…»_

_You know, one loves the sunset, when one is sad._

“Bas?" The nickname slipped out without a thought. "What were you thinking about?”

Sebastian shrugged and avoided Kurt’s eyes. “Nothing really. Just missing home.”

“You’re allowed to be sad, you know.” Kurt picked up Sebastian’s hand from where it rested between them. He twisted their fingers together. “I don’t know if it’s just homesickness, or something else, but it’s ok. Your feelings are valid.”

Sebastian stilled, staring at their entwined hands. They sat there for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Kurt tried to imagine what it must have been like, to be so supplanted from his life and come across the ocean, separated from any friends he might have had. Isolated. Kurt shuddered. It seemed that he and Sebastian had a lot in common after all.

Suddenly, Sebastian jumped off the bed, one hand still clasped with Kurt’s, the book in the other. He gave a slight tug, pulling Kurt to his feet. “C’mon, Kurt.” He placed the book carefully on his desk and traded it for a soft, well-worn hoodie that he tossed at Kurt.

Kurt grabbed the flying sweatshirt out of the air, juggling it with his free hand. He finally managed to wrangle it into a manageable ball, tucking it into the crook of his arm. “What? Where are we going?”

Sebastian just grinned and pulled him to the door. “You’ll see.”

*****

Sebastian led Kurt through the mostly deserted halls. By this point in the night, most of the other boys were settled in somewhere, hanging out in each other’s rooms before curfew or studying in one of the various alcoves that were sprinkled throughout. Kurt was hit with a strong sense of déjà vu – this wasn’t the first time he had followed a Dalton boy through the halls of this school. Hopefully this time would end up better than the last. He wasn’t sure he could handle seeing a mob of Warblers right now.

Sebastian skidded to a halt once he reached a door at the end of a hall. Kurt recognized it as one of the stairwells that had access to the roof. Sebastian looked back at Kurt, a challenging look in his eye as he pushed the door open. Kurt let go of Sebastian’s hand and quickly pulled the hoodie over his head. The ends of the sleeves fell past the ends of his fingers. Kurt pushed them up a bit, then grabbed Sebastian’s hand again. Sebastian squeezed back in response and proceeded up the stairs and through the door at the top, Kurt in tow.

The two burst out onto the roof and were met with a gust of chilly air. It was a relatively warm evening for late winter in Ohio, but Kurt still shivered in the borrowed hoodie. The two boys walked over to the edge of the roof and sat down a few feet away from the drop-off. In front of them, the sun was slowly sinking down below the horizon. The sky immediately around it was awash in reds and oranges, the leaves of the surrounding forest edged in gold as they reflected the last of the sun’s rays. The first few stars were slowly blinking into existence in the dark blanket of sky above them.

Kurt shivered again. Then, he found himself surrounded by warmth as Sebastian put his arm around his shoulders, pulling Kurt into his side. Kurt snuggled in, inhaling in a deep breath and exhaling out the remaining stubborn tension that had been clinging to his body all day. Somehow, sitting next to this boy who only a few hours ago he would have said was the bane of his existence, he finally relaxed. Kurt studied Sebastian’s profile, the other boy studiously ignoring his gaze. Kurt could just make out the faint trace of a blush dusting across Sebastian’s face. Kurt turned back out to the sunset, a soft smile playing at the corners of his lips.

*****

The next day at lunch, Kurt was sitting with Blaine and some of the other Warblers, letting their discussion of choreography and arrangements drift over him. A few tables away, Sebastian was eating with several of the guys from the lacrosse team, laughing as one threw a French fry at another boy at the table. Kurt pulled out his phone and typed for a moment, then hit send.

_«Quand il est midi aux Etats-Unis, le soleil, tout le monde sait, se couche sur la France.»_

_Everybody knows that when it is noon in the United States the sun is setting over France._

Across the room, Sebastian looked down as his phone buzzed by his elbow. Picking it up, he read the message then looked up, scanning the room. When his eyes fell on Kurt, a smile spread across his face. He gave a little wave, then turned his attention back to whatever his teammates were saying. Kurt tucked his phone back into his pocket and pulled out his notebook of sketches. Yes, perhaps it was time to head out on a new course. The possibilities were endless.

**Author's Note:**

> French quotes taken from Le Petit Prince, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. English translations by Katherine Woods.
> 
> Le Petit Prince is a wonderful little book. My mother owned a copy in both languages. Even though I've forgotten most of the French I ever learned, I can still follow along with most of the book in its original language.


End file.
